Friday, July 8, 2011

CODE RED TITLES STOLEN BY OVERSEAS DVD LABELS.

We at Code Red DVD try hard to release lost classics and restore them for the dvd market. Lately, several of our titles are showing up overseas and the majority are not authorized. One French dvd label stole two of our masters and are making a hefly profit while Code Red still in the red ink on many of our titles. Germany has also been on the bandwagon to steal our masters and also our extras. The UK, Italy and Australia have been farming off us, also. If this continues, there is no point of remastering anything if all the profit goes to the overseas thieves. If you live overseas and see a title Code Red released, feel free to contact us and we can let you know if it is legit or some rich snobby overseas company stealing and pissing on the mission that we set out to keep these film alive. You have to realize that it's impossible to keep these films going when someone is making a buck on your work before you break even. Post any comments on these releases and we will let you know if they are legit or stolen.

Are you 100% sure you hold worldwide rights to whatever these films are? It's not exactly new for releases of the same film to be put out by rival companies in other territories at the same time... Although there are some very unethical Euro-labels it has to be said [mostly continental]. So unless you've got some hidden watermark in your print OR unless someone is stupid enough to leave a CR credit on their alleged bootleg release you'll have a struggle proving anything. As to English DVD companies pinching your titles - they must be obscure labels then because the only two doing 70s Splatter/Euro-Horror regularly are 'Shameless' and 'Arrow', even Vipco seems to have dried up.

However, as a photographer I fully understand the frustrations of copyright theft and piracy... I come down like a ton of bricks on people like that.

We don't need any more obstacles to getting much sought after titles on 'region zero' CR DVD... Although they sometimes take several years to squeeze out they are worth having when they arrive - especially as I cannot imagine anyone else doing such a thorough job on low-budget obscurities like The Strangeness, Madman, Night of the Demon, let alone the long awaited 'holy grail' of horror 'Nightmare' - which is my birthday gift to myself.

Artus is currently making alot of money on our DEVIL TIMES FIVE and MESSIAH OF EVIL (which has several code red watermark!). Only if they contacted us we would've gave them a master for a small fee, but they just bought a $12 dvd and ripped it. why pay when you can steal. Please do not support thieves.

Sometimes a company has worldwide or just North American rights to a film. It just depends on the contract. However, what Code Red is getting at with this post, is that after they have token the time to remaster something and include bonus features, that other companies are lifting that for themselves overseas. They are burning a copy of their films and then mass producing and selling it as though they did they work at remastering it, etc.

I really hate what all these thieves have done to the home video market. They have pretty much destroyed it.

It saddens me to hear things like this. We've been battling the same sort of thing for years and we've been successful in squashing many illegal releases of our product. Just recently, a US distributor was caught bootlegging our DEADLY SPAWN DVD... even so far as using our original cover art, UPC code and full project menus, etc. without our permission. The giveaway was the awful reproduction of the cover without the gold foil we used on the paper showing up on their scan!

It sucks, but it's an expensive venture to go after these thieves and I can totally sympathize with CR on their plight. We're all in the same boat. It's absolute hell for indie DVD companies to continue to survive with things like this and torrent sites uploading releases as son as they are out.

Sure! Why I'm betting Code Red went out and hired Perry Mason to represent them in a multi-national lawsuit against people known, and unknown (Who maybe selling bootlegs out of the back of their grannies Ford Grenada.)

Suing people in other countries sure is a breeze. ::rollseyes::

In other news, I'm positively salivating over the release of Nightmare -- hoping to get mine before all 100,000 sell out! :)

My first contact with Code Red DVD's was made recently, bought "A long ride from hell", which looks very good.

It's a shame, what this thieves are doing to you, but not all the companies in this side of the Atlantic are as those.

Despite all the inconvenience and disrespect for your work, I'm positive that many european fans will continue to buy original Code Red dvd whenever available. Internet make it really easy nowadays. Can't way for "Condenados a vivir"!

Code Red is one of the few companies i truly respect for bringing out lost gems like The Strangeness,in support of you i will not buy European bootlegs and i'm sure many of my fellow collectors in the Netherlands will do so aswell.Keep up the good work!!

I was wondering regarding your comment on France : how the french DVD Label can make a lot of money out of Devil times Five as the dvd has not been released yet? (and it is obviously not the same master?)

I for one support the independant labels such as yourselves. Companies such as yours along with Synapse and Blue Underground are my favorites. There are so many obscure titles out there that deserve a DVD release and the only outlet for these titles are the independants. Thanks for all the great titles!!

I'm very sad to hear that. I'm french and if I understand well, it's "Artus Films" who stole your masters. It's really sad because it's very difficult to get some rare movies on dvd in France, we often need to deal with import and sometimes it's very expansive, with no subtitles and everything... so it was a good thing to have a french label with grindhouse and rare titles... But I really don't approve this method. Code Red made such a great work, it's a shame to do that. I don't know if my english is clear but I hope you gonna find a way to solve tis problem.

According to Retroslashers, Code Red were dumb enough to expect a translator who works for another DVD publisher to transcribe the Scavolini interview - why would a competitor do it, you gave them a great chance to roll you over!!

It's almost as if Code Red put this feature on to say "Here you are, you've been moaning coz we broke all our promises AND ignored genuine customer enquiries on this title for months/years, have the bloody interview without subtitles if the DVD is that urgent, and see how you like it..." Probably not so far from the truth given that CR is prone to dramatic outbursts.

To those thinks it easy file a overseas lawsuit. Got $5,000 and a overseas lawyer?

BTW, STATUE is legit in UK and did extremely well compare to my release.

eyecatcher, I believe release 6 code red titles and never paid a dime. They are enjoying the money they made.

I don't understand trolls posting about NIGHTMARE subtitling garbage on this thread. Stop, wake-up, and pause for a second. Yes, you can traslate the interview, but how the hell can you get it in the actual image? All subtitle company wanted $5,000 to $1,800. This dvd didn't even sell that much to pay kind of money.

This reminds me of all the crap Synapse heard about their Street Trash release. People would not stop nagging them, they said they wanted to finish the documentary, and were also trying to track down one of the starts.

That wasn't good enough for some people, they started questioning if Synapse would ever release Street Trsah, or if Synapse even had the rights at all! So, Synapse decided to toss a single DVD release out there, to pacify some people, until they finished the documentary. Still, people complained.

About a year or two later, they released a two-DVD release, with the documentary. From what I recall, they still were unable to locate that actress for the documentary. Once again, certain people complained, saying they felt ripped off by Synapse, as though they fooled people into buying the single-DVD release.

I think Code Red did fine with this release. I actually find it funny the way that interview was thrown on their, without subtitles. Who knows, maybe down the line Code Red will release a blu-ray of this title, with subtitles on the interview! I'm sure eventually someone else, out there on the internet, will eventually translate and type a transcript to read. If anything, it gives some people an incentive to learn another language!

HEY CODE RED...Just because someone posts a few comments containing criticism about an aspect of your product that displeases them doesn't mean they are 'trolls'. Has it dawned on you that the people that made those comments weren't aware of the process or money involved in subtitling video on your discs? Maybe if you worked a little harder at pleasing your customers rather than alienating them, you may make a little cash so you can afford to properly release an extra worth watching.

Bottom line, you need our money and as I do the ordering in the video department at the large chain store which I manage, I will perhaps think twice in ordering your titles when and (IF!) they do ever see release. You may want to think twice before dealing with your paying customers in such an unprofessional and juvenile manner. Trust me, nobody and I mean nobody within atleast a hundred mile radius carries your product and those who are not familiar with your website or your company has been turned on to your release due to my ordering of them.

Perhaps you should just concentrate on actually getting your sometimes decent product out there.

I hate pirates and think they should spend some time in a prison, if only real crimes were punished.I'm worried that with the advent of blu ray and the region locked encoding of cult movies which will probably not get released in another territory may stimulate these thieves into copying legitimate titles minus the encoding and subsequently the quality. I for one won't be buying anything which is not original.Long Live Code Red.

I wrote the original "above and beyond" comment. Three versions of an obscure gem of a slasher movie that has been only available as grainy VHS rips for years, for the low price of $20.00? You sir, are one stupid mouth-breathing mongoloid. Why don't you go take your interview trolling elsewhere asshole?

anonymous @August 7, 2011 3:11 PM

Hey dopey, perhaps if you came to this blog a little more often, you'd have read that the subtitle issue was bought up numerous times in CR blogs posts with transparency given to the subtitle issue.

i/ The excuse you kept giving, for ages and ages, was the actual translation NOT the subtitling costs.

ii/ The excuse of costs has only now come about AFTER the Nightmare DVD is released. HOW can you announce a special feature [as you did with the Scavolini interview] BEFORE acquainting yourself with the costs of realizing it? Are you that NAIVE? Or just very disorganized/dishonest? You shouldn't be that CLUELESS after a few years in the business, or maybe you shouldn't be in business..?

Methinks Code Red is making it up to suit himself as per usual, and he wonders why his customers don't give him a warm reception..?! Lies, delays, mis-information, ignoring customers. Oh, how I feel my repeat custom is valued.

We can only hope SCORPION - Code Red's brother! [apparantly] - is more clude-up and professional, as he has got some great titles in the works.

PS - please STOP being so damned childish and sarcastic on your DVD covers - I paid good money for Nightmare only to have to put up with your snide bullshit & sour grapes all over the front AND back of the cover instead of having an inlay I enjoy looking at. Pull that game again - on such an important release - and you've lost me as a customer for starters. You need a smack in the head for ever thinking that kind of inane crap should ever get printed on a DVD inlay.